WASHINGTON: Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was among the 576 women to be detained during a protest staged in Washington against the border and immigration policy of US President Donald Trump. The civil disobedience was in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown at the US-Mexico border, including separation of thousands of children from their parents in recent months. An immigration-rights activist and founder of OneAmerica, this is her third arrest, with the first two occurring before her 2016 election to Congress in 2016. Speaking to the press, Jayapal said she was invited to speak at the demonstration called by women at the Hart Senate Office Building.
She added, “I decided that I too, would sit down with them and submit to arrest. We chanted and sang and talked about the need to reunite these families and to end the President’s zero-tolerance policy. I think that every American, Republican and Democrat, just has to try and imagine what that looks like, to have six-month-old baby taken from your breast.” Jayapal added that she was annoyed with Trump's zero-tolerance prosecutions of people crossing the US-Mexico border. She has also actively helped in organising 'Families Belong Together' protests in Washington DC., and other cities across the nation.
Spokeswoman for the US Capitol Police, Eva Malecki said the women were arrested and charged with unlawfully demonstrating in the Senate office atrium. Jayapal was issued a $50 fine for “crowding, obstructing or incommoding”. Following mass criticism, Trump signed an executive order to end family separations after which 538 children were reunited with their families. However, data provided by the Department of Homeland Security reveals that 2000 minors are still separated from their beloved.
